Dangerous Admirer
by problematick
Summary: My re-written take on the episode "The Stalker". Harm and Mac scenes only. That paring. One-shot. Mac is comforted by Harm during the difficult time.


AN: Ok, I know I said Dalton Lowne doesn't exist in my universe, but hey, he dies in this episode anyway! This is my take on the episode "The Stalker". Harm and Mac scenes only, really. There are a lot of edits and cutting out and rearranging of their words because it was turning out really long. Sorry if the first few lines aren't perfectly right since I started taping the eppie late. Here ya go.

Spoiler: Um...up...to..."The Stalker"...what else? Oh and that little almost kiss between her and the Admiral? Never happened according to me, got it? In fact, I re-wrote that part, too. ::smirk::

Disclaimer: We've been over this! MANY times. The show would be on cable, no other men exist in Mac's love life except Harm.

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Mac and Harm exited the courtroom just as Dalton Lowne emerged from the elevator. Mac stopped and looked at him incredulously while Harm walked further away.

"For your information, I've got work to do here," Dalton said, approaching Mac.

"Don't let me keep you from it," she said curtly. She turned to go, but he grabbed her upper arm tightly.

"What're you afraid of?" He asked, still gripping her. Mac looked down at her arm and back up to his face.

"Let go of me." At this Harm turned and decided to intervene.

"Is there a problem here?" He stopped, waiting in case Mac needed him.

"Nothing that concerns you," Lowne said quickly, with a bit of a final and cut-off tone. Harm persisted.

"Mac, are you alright?" She turned to look at Harm but her eyes returned to Dalton after he said,

"She's fine," and answering for her. His voice lowered a little when he spoke to her. "For once, admit that you have real feelings." He had dropped his hand from her arm and Mac turned and started walking away, silent. Lowne followed. "You can't run away your whole life, Sarah." Mac turned a corner but Dalton's path was blocked by Harm who had smoothly stepped in his way and towered over him.

"Let her go." He said firmly. Mac clanked over her shoulder and felt intense gratitude and ...love? for Harm as he kept her 'stalker' at bay.

"This is none of your business." Dalton looked as if he were going to push past Harm.

"Let it go. Walk away." Icy blue eyes stared coldly, and Lowne nodded slightly and left. Mac was greatly relieved and returned to her office. Sinking into her chair and holding her face in her hands, she sighed heavily. Harm knocked lightly and stood in her doorway as she looked up.

"You alright?" She sniffed slightly and nodded, sitting up straight.

"Yeah. Um...Harm?" He had been turning to go but he stopped and looked over his shoulder with caring blue eyes.

"Thanks. You know...for stopping him." He smiled at her rare moment of shyness.

"You're welcome. I'll always be there."

**(Scene where Dalton dies remains the same)**

Mac watched the police wrap up Dalton's body, and she blinked slowly, licking her lips slightly in anxiety. Coster began to ask her questions and she looked up from where Lowne lay.

"Did he say anything to you before he died?"

"No, nothing." She rose from sitting on the hood of the cop car and walked with the investigator a few steps.

"Major, witnesses say he talked to you." Mac was silent, and put a hand to her head. Just then, Harm's voice sounded, coming to her rescue.

"Well if you know the answer to the question, Coster, then why ask it?" He rounded the corner of the car and stared pointedly at the detective. Then his gaze softened and turned to Mac.

"Rabb..." Coster muttered, and stepped away.

"Are you ok? I got here as fast as I could." He put a gently hand on he arm.

"Dalton's dead." She looked back to where he had been. Harm pulled off his flight jacket and put it around her shoulders, keeping her close to him in a protective way.

**(Blah, blah, blah. Continues until they're at the police station...)**

Harm paced impatiently around the room while Mac was interrogated by Coster. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and when she reached up and held it tightly with her own cold hand, Harm put his other hand on her other shoulder and squeezed lightly in reassurance. She leaned back and into him slightly, as he was standing behind her chair.

"I don't know who did it yet, but whoever killed Lowne might've done Mac a favor." They both looked at him suddenly after his statement, and then their eyes found each other.

**(Continue and skip to later Mac's Apartment...)**

Mac opened the door and Harm followed close behind, closing it.

"Why don't' you go relax?" Mac nodded and said thanks in a low voice, heading to her bedroom. Harm moved in the opposite direction, intent on putting some water on to boil.

"Harm?" His eyes widened at her scared voice and he turned and ran back to her bedroom door a moment later. He entered her bedroom to find her looking around with an emotion in her eyes he'd seen once before: fear. (AN: I couldn't help myself! –Those that have read Lost In The Mountains get it! If you don't then go read it! ::points:: ) her place had been ransacked. Clothes and items were tossed about violently, and 'EVEN GOD FORGIVES' was scrawled across her wall in red—it looked like lipstick.

The apartment was crawling with police. They were bagging and tagging almost everything in her room as evidence.

"He'll go after anyone he considers a rival." Coster seemed nonchalant about the whole thing.

"A rival?" Mac's brows furrowed, and she looked at the gray-haired detective. Her eyes flicked almost instantly afterwards to Harm, and his eyes found hers while the investigator talked.

"Are there any other men in your life?"

_/Harm.../_ she thinks the moment he asks.

"Even men you only fantasize about."

_/Harm...again.../_ she thought. The man in question was slowly approaching, and she looked at him while Coster kept speaking.

"Because they could be in danger, too." She stared at Harm for a long moment.

_/Harm! You could be in danger...just because I might...No. I won't endanger you by admitting anything./_

"Maybe," she finally answered, but refused to tell Coster who. Harm noticed she wouldn't make eye contact for longer than a few seconds after she confessed there might be someone else.

"Alright." Coster accepted defeat. He finally left after knowing that she would stay there, had a weapon, and was notified that he was going to set up surveillance. He closed the door behind him after leaving. Mac went to the couch and Harm sat down next to her, putting a hand on her cheek which Mac leaned her face into, eyes closing after a minute. But she soon sat up and opened her eyes.

"How could this maniac know? It's like...it's like he's here!" Harm's eyes went wide, and he placed a finger very tenderly on Mac's lips. She was jolted by his touch, but looked at him questioningly and curiously as he looked over her phone. Turning it over, he finally retrieved a circular metallic chip, and mouthed a single word to her.

_"Bug." _

**(Skip scene w/ Chief and go to phone call with AJ's daughter. ::too lazy to look up name:: )**

"Must you go?" The accented voice asked.

"Yes and I... well I'm sort of involved with someone right now..." Harm's eyes drifted in the general direction of Mac's office.

"And will you take her to this party tonight?" He hesitated.

"Maybe, maybe not." He decided that was a safe enough answer.

**(Skip to when Harm goes to get Mac.)**

Mac sits, silent, brooding and melancholy in her dark apartment. She's dressed up for the Admiral's party, but can't bring herself to go. Hell, she can't even answer the ringing phone right next to her.

_/What kind of Marine am I?/_ she wondered. Mac raises her head from her arms when someone knocks on her door. She picked up her handgun from the coffee table and looked through the peephole but was relieved to see Harm on the other side. He looked around after she opened the door, and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"What's going on?"

"It's clean." She opened the door more and returned to her couch.

"Mac, we're waiting for you at the party."

"I'm not going." She resituated herself and pulled a maroon blanket over her legs.

"What? Come on Mac this is a big event; it'll do you good." She stopped moving around.

"I can't face them, Harm. I can't face you. She turned her face away sadly. Sighing, he flicks the switch and light floods the living room. Mac grimaced against the bright lights and put a few fingers to her forehead before brushing away a curled brown lock and dropping the hand back to her lap.

"Mac. You fell off the wagon, you get back on. Hell, you've got ten years of sobriety." He closed the door and looked at Mac with sad and concerned eyes. She sighed and looked up, her fingers idly twisting and gripping her blanket.

"I said some horrible things to you."

**(Blah, blah, blah.)**

"...and I'm ashamed of myself but God help me, Coster's right. Whoever killed Dalton did me a favor." She sniffs, and Harm leans forward from his seat on the coffee table. She took a shaky breath. "God, what kind of monster am I?"

"No kind of monster at all." He moved forward and knelt next to the couch, taking Mac's face in his hands gently. He kindly wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. She looked at him and there were immense amounts of anguish and torment in her chocolate orbs. Harm wished dearly that he could take all that pain away. The best he could to relieve her was brush his lips softly against hers as she blinked, surprised.

"Don't worry, Mac. We're going to catch this guy. But first we're gonna go to the Admiral's party." She looked at him and let out a short breath, a smile breaking through. He grinned back. "Come on." He stood and she looked up at him for a moment. His hands found hers and she let him pull her up and stand.

**(Skipping...)**

Harm escaped to the Admiral's bedroom, where all the coats were laying on the bed. He reached in his pocket to retrieve some aspirin and headed to the bathroom only to run into Mac coming out.

"Oh! Hey, the other one was occupied."

"Oh. Aspirin?" He jiggled the bottle, making the pills contained within rattle softly.

"Ah...no. Thanks, though." She stepped past him and went to the door but stopped as Harm began speaking.

"It is not your fault, Mac. I want you to know that."

"Ok."

"Go easy on yourself." She smiled a bit, looked at the bottle of pain-relievers in his hand and walked back to him.

"You know I will have some of that aspirin after all." He handed her the bottle but her fingers fumbled and his hands closed lightly over hers. She slowly looked up at him and then they leaned in, lips tentatively meeting. Before it could go any further, the phone in Mac's purse rang and they were forced to separate. Harm excused himself and stepped outside back to the party.

**(Skip until Harm has finished off Coster...-- you know what I mean. Knocked out.)**

He ripped the duct tape covering her mouth off and she took a few breaths before looking up and speaking.

"Took your time getting here."

"Yeah, there was interference with the tracker signal. I lost ya for a minute." He was panting, still recovering from the stun-gun zap. He sat where Coster had been, but Harm leaned over and started untying Mac. "Thank God I found you." She was breathing heavily but smiling a little and watching him with loving eyes.

"That locator on the car was brilliant." She said as his shoulder touched hers. He was standing up now, but bent over and untying her hands. "You're a genius." She was jostled a little as he moved.

"I don't know about that..." He broke the last bond and helped Mac stand, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Yeah." She leaned on him for support as they both gazed around at the photograph-filled room.

"Wow. ... Been drinking', huh?" She scoffed and smiled lightly but found she couldn't walk well. "Let's get out of here, huh?"

"Yeah..." They leaned on each other for support and got the hell outta that weirdo's place.

(Later, at Mac's apartment)

Mac walked into her living room, in loose pajamas and stretching sore muscles that had been relieved by a long and luxurious bubble bath she had left only moments ago to find Harm fast asleep on her couch, and dirtying it up too! He'd collapsed as soon as they arrived and was only 'resting his eyes', so he said. She couldn't help but smile as he lay, sprawled over her sofa in a dusty and soiled suit that had once been acceptable at a party. Sighing, she reluctantly put a soft hand on his shoulder and shook softly.

"Harm...Harm, wake up." He sat up abruptly but she gently pushed him back down. "Relax, it's over."

"Hey, I'm the one supposed to be comforting you, remember?" He smiled sheepishly and Mac only shook her head, still smiling at her Flyboy.

"Yeah, and look at me. Why do I always have to take care of you Stickboy?" She sat down and her Marines façade began to crumble as she tucked her legs under her. Harm removed his grubby jacket and rolled up his sleeves, discarding the tie around his neck.

"C'mere..." he held his arms open and she went to them gratefully, burying her head in his chest and taking slow deep breaths. She refused to cry, but was still shaken by the whole ordeal no matter how much she tried to hide it. "It's gonna be ok. I promise." He looked at her, and surprised, he wiped away her tears for the second time that night. Mac couldn't stop the flood pouring from her brown eyes a moment ago. She sniffled, swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"Really?"

"Really." He kissed her softly, and for the first time that night she kissed him back with full force. Pulling away grudgingly, he kissed her forehead, then she nestled into him,and neither moved from that spot until morning.

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AN: Well? Whaddya think of that one? Maybe, MAYBE there's a sequel if there's lots of reviews. So what are you waiting for? Why are you still reading this and not reviewing? Go review. Now, now, now. Fine, you can just sit here reading a sentence that calls you stupid when you could have been reviewing. Stupid. ............. OKAY I DIDN'T MEAN IT! Please review! ::begs:: Pwease?


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